Isaiah 9:4

Isaiah 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
• New International Version (NIV)For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.

Context of Isaiah 9:4

2The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. 3You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. 6For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:4 word by word

כִּ֣י׀ אֶת־עֹ֣ל סֻבֳּל֗וֹ וְאֵת֙ מַטֵּ֣ה שִׁכְמ֔וֹ שֵׁ֖בֶט הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂ בּ֑וֹ הַחִתֹּ֖תָ כְּי֥וֹם מִדְיָֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For thou hast brokenחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
• the yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
• of his burdenסֹ֫בֶלsôbel sûbbâl · burdenH5448
• and the staffמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: rodH4294
• of his shoulderשְׁכֶםshekem · shoulderH7926
• the rodשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribe: staffH7626
• of his oppressorנָגַשׂnâgaώ · to oppressH5065
• as in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080

Cross-references for Isaiah 9:4

• Isaiah 14:25I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel; I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be their slaves nor bow down under their heavy loads.
• Isaiah 47:6For I was angry with my chosen people and punished them by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You oppressed even the elderly.
• Genesis 27:40You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
• Leviticus 26:13I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.
• Jeremiah 30:8For in that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters.
• Nahum 1:13Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.”
• Isaiah 10:5“What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger. I use it as a club to express my anger.
• Isaiah 14:3In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,
• Isaiah 30:31At the Lord’s command, the Assyrians will be shattered. He will strike them down with his royal scepter.
• Psalms 125:3The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.
• Isaiah 10:26The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea.
• Judges 6:1The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.
• Judges 7:22When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
• Judges 8:10By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors—all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed.
• Psalms 83:9Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.

Commentaries on Isaiah 9:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For thou hast broken - This verse, and the following, show the way in which the occasion of the joy had been furnished. The expression thou hast‘ does not necessarily refer to the past, but is a form of expression derived from the nature of the prophetic visions, where that is described as past which is seen to pass before the eyes of the prophet; see the Introduction, section 7. The yoke - This word is often used to denote oppression, or tyranny…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The people experienced the rule of other nations as a yoke of slavery and a heavy burden. A yoke is a wooden bar placed on animals to control them. Here it describes harsh control and forced labor (Jeremiah 30:8). the rod of their oppressor: In Isaiah 10:5, the Assyrians are called “the rod of [the Lord’s] anger.” This means God used Assyria to punish his people. But God’s anger would not last forever. When his anger ended, Assyria’s cruel rule over Judah…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The occasion of the "joy," the deliverance not only of Ahaz and Judah from the Assyrian tribute (2Ki 16:8), and of Israel's ten tribes from the oppressor (2Ki 15:19), but of the Jewish Christian Church from its last great enemy. hast--the past time for the future, in prophetic vision; it expresses the certainty of the event. yoke of his burden--the yoke with which he was burdened. staff of ... shoulder--the staff which strikes his shoulder [Maurer]; or…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 9:4

• Church
• Gentiles
• Isaiah
• Scepter (Sceptre)
• Yoke

In the dictionaries

• Midian
• Midian; Midianites
• Midian, Midianite
• Ahaz
• Gideon
• Increase
• Kindle
• Midianite
• Prince
• Snatch

Commentaries on Isaiah 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings